All posts in M4 Carbine Parts

AR15 upper receivers sold out

I guess the less expensive stuff is what most people seem to go for and right now that is everything from Spikes Tactical.  The funny thing is these guns are so well made for the price that they were in high demand even before things heated up in the Country.  The AR15 is the primary firearm in the United States and transitioning from Civilian to Military with it is an easy step.  Many people forget that the original intent of having an armed population is so that the population could be called to arms at any moment to defend their Country.

Now that so many people own the AR15 changing the guns to something longer or shorter or to MOE can be as easy as pushing 2 pins out.  There are definitely some big differences in the durability of the firearms, but the lower end of the spectrum for AR15 upper receivers is pretty darn good.   Mismatched parts and bad assemble isn’t something I heard about too often anymore.   The poorly run companies seem to have been cleaned out and there are some really good guns being made.  We’ve sold lots of gas piston AR15s this year and the pool is getting competive.

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Still my favorite Trijicon combat optic

Not all of the Trijicon optics work for every situation, if they did there would only be one Trijicon ACOG.  I remember the first time I saw these bad boys and I was blow away at  how cool they were too look through.  Seeing a scope with bullet comp was not that common and really just finding a scope that could hold up to a semi-auto military style rifle was hard and I mostly saw hunting optics like Leupold rifle scopes for guys trying to target shoot.   It was not very common in the 1980s and 1990s to see rifle scopes on AR15s.

If I had all of the money in the world I’d probable own everything that Trijicon has out, but I’m  not so I have to be very selective on what I buy because if the bullet comp or the reticle does not suit my needs then it was a waste of money.  I have been and always will be an LWRC Fan and I have several Trijicon TA01NSN on my primary LWRC M6A2.   I have recently purchased a suppressor and I will be looking into getting an LWRC M6A5 when they become available.  As far as I know the only difference between the LWRC M6A5 and it’s predecessor is the gas selector is a 2 position and not a 4.

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A discussion about ACOGSs and long range shooting

Sometimes people really get carried away with scope magnification and think that it will increase your accuracy.  Well try taking a 5.5-20×50 scope to the range on a 90F day and tell me if you can even see X on a paper target at 300yds.   Anyone with experience will know that a mirage will void you scope magnificatioin and actually make it very difficult to make pin point accuracy.   A mirage is a constant wave of distorted light due to heat rising and you might be better off with lower magnification or Zero magnification.  Most Trijicon ACOGS are really meant for medium range engagements.

Recently I got to the range and tried out some of the newer green reticle ACOGS and the first one I tried out on my Bushmaster XM15E2 was the Trijicon TA11H-G.    This optic is actually a long range optic and might be best suited for a machine  gun,  The Trijicon TA11H-G ACOG has a green horseshoe reticle which for some reason seems to be very popular.  This particular ACOG has a longer tube than something like the TA31F-G

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A recent stock failure and no time to mess around

I’ve had 2 stock failures in recent  years and one was my fault for not checking the carbine to make sure it was tight after thousands of rounds of use and the other was during a Carbine course where I showed a student how to clear a malfunction by slamming the butt stock on the ground.  There is a YouTube video of someone hurting their  hand with a CTR stock but there are obvious limites on how much banging around a gun or accessory can take.  When there is a fire and you have to break the glass to get to an axe, you don’t need to hit the glass hard that you break the axe handle and end up with a metal wedge.

I’ve had issues with firearms in the past, usually finicky handguns where I just got tired of the intermittent magazine failure that I just replaced all of the mags springs and recoil springs and was done with it.  If you are looking for gun accessories and not sure what you want, take a serious look at the Magpul accessories for the AR15 rifle and  you’ll probable find what you are looking for.   You can’t beat the MOE stocks and accessories but there are always unique things out there that the major firearm accessory companies don’t have.

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Clearing Malfunctions on an AR may mean finding out how good your stock is

I found out the hard way while taking a newby to the firing range and teaching them how to clear malfunctions from an AR15 if they couldn’t get the bolt back.   When I showed them how to clear the malfunction, they told me they were afraid to hit it hard on the ground because they thought they might break the stock, I told them to just got ahead and hit it hard enough to have the bolt fly back and they did.   When I checked the stock to make an adjustment on it, I found out that the stock was broken and I could not shorten it.  This was an AR15 that I built myself and very much consider it to be a hobby rifle, but I will not be putting hobby gun parts on it in the future.

I have no reason to deviate from using anything but the best for my AR15 hunger, the gun parts I have on my M4 rifles are what I like and it took me a long time to get to this point.   There are several choices to make for your magpul accessories and the most popular CTR stock is hands down my favorite.  I like the way the stocks lock   into place and they feel very sturdy.  I have done slam down malfunction clearances and never even cracked the stock.  I expect at some point it may break, but I’ve already got my monies worth.

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Might need to rethink your grip

When it comes time to mounting a flashlight on your M4 Carbine you might have to rethink the placement of your grips.  If you  have a tradition A2 it might not be so bad, I have for several years not used pressure switches on my M4 Carbines because I’ve seen them snag or fail so many times.  Putting one more switch or screwed on attachment on my carbine means one more thing that can fail on me.  Considering the number of failures I’ve witnessed with guns, I don’t want to have to worry about getting a light on at a crucial moment.

Depending on your level of vigilance, you may be in the same camp as I am, but really want to add on those lights and switches.   Always knowing  how to deal with a failure is important and many have changed their magpul accessories out on firearms only to realize they can’t move the same way.   There are some very nice light mounts being made that actually sit very far forward and close to the barrel of the firearm which in all reality, is the best place for a laser or a white light. The magpul angled foregrips are something that I really feel comfortable using, but it’s hard to turn a light switch on and off without a pressure switch in this position.

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LWRC M6A3 now a thing of the past

We just got word that the LWRC M6A3 is on the chopping block but right behind it is the new LWRC M6A5.  From the early info we have gathered so far, the M6A5 has a 2 position gas regulator and that is the only difference.  Not sure about any other changes but I think this was just a simplicity issue.   There is nothing wrong with simplifying a design because some gun parts and accessories can wear out or be hard to place or are just a wast of manufacturing time and energy because it is not necessary.   We have seen LWRC stop the M6 rifle because it was just so old and the demand for something more on a carbine was there.

I still have my original LWRC M6A1 carbine and I love it although it isn’t the same guy it was when I first purchased it.   The thing about the AR15 upper receivers that I have held and shot, is that there are so many configurations and variations out there that sometimes the guns are just flat out not the same.   The AR18 is also know where near the same as an LWRC gun nor is it like the Sig 556.   There are differences between rifle grips and some are mil spec and some are commercial

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Do you get a new gun or just modify what you have?

Do you get a new gun or modify the one you own?  That would really depend on what you are  intending to do with it.  I would not take a hobby gun to a serious carbine course unless you want to make a fool out of yourself.  The real trick is getting good parts and replacing second rate extractors and springs.  That really is something that can make a huge difference in keeping your firearm up and running.  I have never seen an AR15 go down because it was dirty, most of the ones I saw go down where due to magazines being inserted improperly or an operator error.   The rest of the time it was from parts sheering or breaking.

The things that people tend to one to do with firearms is hang crap all over them, now the trend is towards getting light weight uppers to keep your weight down.   The best product line for accessorizing your AR15 are the Magpul accessories.   We sell about a half a dozen lightweight upper receivers and they all have the new MOE stock accessories.  I  personally have not taken that ride yet but I do see some advantages in it.  Most of my AR15 rifle are close quarters rifles and I have very little use for lasers or large flashlights.  I moved on to the magpul angled fore grips after not having good luck with folding grips.

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Do you want a plinking gun or a combat durable firearm?

I am still a big fan of SWAT magazine even though print magazines seem to get written off as gun rags, but I find this to be utter bull shit.   Not all gun magazines the are the same and I for one mostly follow about a dozen gun writers because I want to hear their opinions on some of the products out there.  Yes, the gun industry is full of materialism and novelties, but there is a real world out there and I want to hear from real world individuals about hardware that can cut it.   Much of the firearm industry is about preference, whether it’s tactical pants or firearms.

There is cheap crap out there, although I’d say it’s not so bad anymore because gun acceessories like Magpul have pretty much buried the competition.   Everyone and their dog is putting out a gun or AR15 upper receivers with the Magpul acessories on them.   They are not that expensive and they hold up.  Proper mounting is always a big deal with gun accessories but I’ve already cracked quite a few gun parts and none of them were Magpul accessories.

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Gun magazines and tactical vests and accessories

Every time you make a modification to a firearm you might have to either learn how to adapt to the the changes with your body or move things around.  I have always preferred to use a standard rifleman grip when shooting an AR15, but I stepped into the M4 Carbine world and messed around with various styles of foregrips.   I tried the Magpul, CAA, and some others that I can’t seem to remember.   I had a folding fore grip that I liked a lot but after about a year of using it, I noticed that it was cracking around the screw that locks it on and that was a real bummer because I didn’t trust the setup anymore.

Recently I started messing around with the Magpul products because we sell so much of them that I ought to start learning about them.  The Magpul accessories for the AR15 are very tough and I have yet to have anything break or crack on me.  All firearm accessories will break if you slam them around enough, but some products out there just royally suck.   One thing that I am in a bit of  a bind about is what to do about light placements.   There are some very unique flashlight mounts out there and they can really move the lights out of the way of your hands and give you more space to move especially during weapons transitions.

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